In video interview, Joel Osteen says God accepts gays

By Craig Hlavaty |
October 4, 2013
| Updated: October 4, 2013 12:33pm

Joel Osteen appears on the "Dr. Oz Show" on Nov. 17, 2011, to talk about the healing power of prayer.

Photo By Ann Heisenfelt

Joel Osteen throws out the ceremonial first pitch prior to a Washington Nationals baseball game against the Houston Astros in Washington, April 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)

Joel and Victoria Osteen, left, receive a 1683 King James Bible from their friends Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, who stopped in Houston Jan. 20, 2013, to promote their docudrama "The Bible." Credit: Lakewood Church

Joel Osteen preaches during a worship service he leads with his wife, Victoria, Sunday, at Lakewood Church, the congregation he took over 8 years ago after the death of his father, John Osteen, founder of the institution. Osteen moved the congregation from its outgrown northeast Houston established site to the building formerly known as the Compaq Center and before that as the Summit, where the Houston Rockets won two championships, circuses entertained with clowns, tigers and elephants and numerous rock stars had packed audiences on their feet, not unlike today's service. Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007, in Houston. (Steve Ueckert / Chronicle)

Joel Osteen preaches to a large crowd at the Times Union Center March 16, 2012, in Albany, N.Y. Osteen is a televangelist and the senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union archive)

Photo By Nick de la Torre/.

Lakewood Church Pastor Joel Osteen, left, stands next to his wife Victoria Osteen, who's the Church's Co-Pastor, as singers and the band perform on stage during his 11 a.m. service, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011, in Houston. Olsteen's church averages about 40,000 people in attendance per week.

Photo By Lori Van Buren

Joel Osteen welcomes his mother, Dodie Osteen, on stage at the Times Union Center March 16, 2012, in Albany, N.Y. Joel Osteen is a televangelist and the senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union archive)

Photo By Smiley N. Pool/Houston Chronicle

Lakewood Church pastor Joel Osteen prepares to throw out a ceremonial first pitch before the Astros play the Indians.

Photo By Lori Van Buren

Joel Osteen and his wife Victoria greet a large crowd at the Times Union Center March 16, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. Joel Osteen is a televangelist and the senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Photo By Ron Wyatt/Joel Osteen Ministries

POPULAR SPEAKER: Joel Osteen often speaks to crowds numbering in the tens of thousands. When he takes the podium at Jerusalem Theater in Israel on Thursday the audience is expected to be about 1,000 people.

Lakewood Church pastor Joel Osteen visited the Huffington Post this week to talk about his newest book Break Out: 5 Keys to Go Beyond Your Barriers and Live an Extraordinary Life, which was released on Oct. 1.

He and host Josh Zepps talked about the usual hot topic issues that Osteen encounters during interviews, including prayer, Pope Francis' seemingly game-changing stint as the leader of the Catholic Church, and optimism, even in the face of the current government shutdown.

What's standing out to everyone is Osteen and Zepp touching on the issue of gays, which shows that the pastor's view on the subject is evolving, to an extent.

Zepps quoted a line from Pastor's Osteen’s new book, “It doesn’t matter who likes you or who doesn’t like you, all that matters is God likes you. He accepts you, he approves of you.” Zepps of course asked if this inlcudes homosexuals.

Osteen agreed.

“I believe that God has breathed his life into every single person. We’re all on a journey. Nobody’s perfect," said Osteen. "I'm not here preaching hate, pushing people down, or telling people what they are doing wrong."

He didn't exactly say there would be a Lakewood float in the next Houston Gay Pride Parade, though.

During a previous exchange in September 2012 with CNN's Soledad O'Brien, Osteen was hit on his view that being gay was a sin, according to biblical scripture. Osteen also added that the Bible says many other things are sins too, and that he tries to stick to issues he understands.